Alan Turing iterates that it wasn't breaking the code that mattered but what one did afterwards with his life. However, due to society's social standards, he asserts that he "should've stuck to the rules." This play shows how greatness is often stunted by conformity. For Turing, math lead him to greatness, although no one knew of his contribution to the war effort after his death.

This play (and movie) also addresses the differences between the machine--the electronic brain-- and the human, who has "a failing memory...faculties fade, the body disintegrates, the mind crumbles." Without the machine to break the German Enigma, the war might not have be won, and without Turing, a mathematician, the machine might have never even existed.

This is a fast read for anyone who would like to understand more about math's, and more specifically, Turing's role in WWII. It is certainly one of my favorite works of mathematical fiction. I highly recommend it!